University of Orb
by CapitalD
Summary: When Cagalli finally gets a day off every week, she decides to do something to pass her time: go to university. Using a disguise, she attends classes like a normal person. But will her secret identity be discovered? Oneshot!


A.N.: My first GS story. Please be kind :)

* * *

Cagalli sighed heavily while removing her uniform jacket and flopped onto her bed. For the last four days, she had been on an official visit to the Earth Alliance government, going over many aspects and developments of the treaty between Orb and the EA. She hadn't had the chance to get much sleep since there was so much to go over and so many people to meet and places to see.

Cagalli rubbed her face in her soft pillow and relished the feeling of the comfort of one's own bed. It was only late afternoon, but Cagalli couldn't wait any longer to sleep. _Screw eating, I'll do that later._

She had been working non stop since the end of the second war, visiting every important political figure on Earth and in Plant. Orb had also been in a dire need of reconstruction, not to mention a major revision and modifications of its laws after the Seirans had taken over for a while. All those tasks had resulted in endless meetings, visits, ceremonies, speeches and mountain loads of paperwork whenever she didn't have to go anywhere. That had been the lifestyle of Cagalli Yula Athha for the past year and the stress of being the head representative of one of the leading nations in the world had definitely taken its toll on the young twenty two year old.

Cagalli frequently had bags underneath her eyes from lack of sleep. She had grown a bit slimmer despite Mana's efforts to feed her whenever she could. Kisaka was also doing the best he could to alleviate her workload. She was glad that most of the important tasks she had set for herself had been done in the past year. Orb was finally back to its former glory on every aspect and the world was peaceful.

When Cagalli woke up she was surprised to see sunlight coming in through her half closed curtains. _Wasn't it supposed to get darker?_ She had fallen asleep at around six in the afternoon when the sun had just started to set. She laid on her bed motionless, staring out the window and listening to the birds chirp. She was still on her stomach, in the exact position she had fallen on her bed. _This is weird. Didn't I just sleep for a few minutes? _She lazily eyed the clock on her little night table and it read 11:04. She frowned and continued to stare at it.

Suddenly, she jumped out of bed and screamed, shaking the whole Athha mansion. _Crap! Crap! Crap! I overslept!_ Needless to say, Cagalli was running around her room in a state of panic, going from her closet to the bathroom. She quickly turned on the shower and jumped in before the water was even hot. _Quick! Quick! Wash your hair!_ She kept on cursing to herself. She had never been late for work, not even once. Even if she had gotten two or three hours of sleep the night before, she had never been late for anything when it came to work. _I'm the head representative of Orb! What would they think of me? So unprofessional!_

"Cagalli! What's wrong?" a voice called her from the other side of the bathroom door.

"Mana! I'm late! Why didn't you wake me up? Can you get me a new uniform please?" Cagalli rinsed off her shampoo as quickly as she could, turned off the water and ran out of the bathroom in a large towel. _That Kisaka! I'm going to kill him!_ He was usually the one who told her the next day's schedule so she could wake up at the right time and get ready. However, when they came back yesterday, he hadn't told her anything and she had completely forgotten to ask him.

Mana caught the end of Cagalli's towel as she came bursting out of her bathroom, which made her twirl out of her it and landing on her bed naked. She shrieked in horror and rolled herself into a sausage in her blanket.

"Mana! What are you doing?" Cagalli protested, face red from embarrassment.

"Calm down Cagalli. You're not late for anything. Kisaka gave you a day off today. All the council members agreed that you need some rest. We can't have our proud leader collapse on us." She smiled at Cagalli, only to quickly replace it with a disapproving frown. "Look at you! What a mess! You can't even clean yourself properly. There's still so much shampoo in your hair. Now get back in there and clean yourself properly before I do it myself."

Cagalli was laying on her bed facing Mana, rolled up in her blanket, with wet hair and shampoo dripping everywhere. She stared with wide eyes at her. _Day off? Rest? Am I hearing right?_ A slow smile crept up on her face.

"Get in there now before you get sick!" Mana pointed to the bathroom door with a loud huff. Cagalli unrolled herself and sprung out of bed laughing in delight. She hugged Mana tightly and enthusiastically.

"Put on your towel! Show some decency! A girl can't go walking around naked and it's worse if she's the Head Representative of Orb!"

"Oh Mana! Do I really get a day off?" She looked at her with her eyes twinkling. Mana sighed and smiled.

"Yes Darling. You've worked very hard for the past year. You deserve some time for yourself now."

Cagalli beamed and skipped to the bathroom to finish her shower. _I'm going to call Kisaka to thank him later._ She couldn't remember the last time she had gotten more than six hours of sleep, but she was already feeling refreshed from one good night of sleep and excited from the anticipation of her rare day off.

She hummed as she got out of the bathroom from a long hot shower and went to her wardrobe. _I can finally wear something that's not my uniform!_ She picked out something comfortable and quickly went downstairs. She followed the smell of food all the way to the kitchen and found Mana busily preparing something.

"What are you making Mana?" she asked, walking to stand beside her.

"Your favorite beef stew. It'll give you the energy you need." She scooped a huge amount onto a large plate with rice and vegetables on the side. "Go sit down. I'll bring this to you."

Cagalli did as she was told and waited impatiently for her meal. It had been a long time since she felt this excited to eat. It reminded her of her younger self, when she didn't have that many responsibilities yet. She ate until she couldn't eat any more and rested on her chair for a while. _Right, I have to call Kisaka._ She dialed his number on her cell phone and waited.

"Kisaka speaking," he answered.

"Kisaka!" Cagalli greeted him enthusiastically. She heard him chuckle quietly.

"I see you're already full of energy Cagalli."

"I am. I slept for maybe seventeen hours like the dead and ate a huge portion of Mana's beef stew! So, I really have the rest of the day off?" She quickly got to the topic.

"Yes Cagalli, you do. Actually, from now on, you have every Tuesday off. The major projects have all been completed or are half-way done, so everyone has agreed that you need some rest to recover from the past year's exhaustion. You've overworked yourself too much and we don't want you to burn out."

"Thank you so much! You don't know what this means to me!" Cagalli could already think of a million things she wanted to do. "So how long am I going to have a day off every week like this?"

"Well, since things are calm right now, I think it could last quite a while. But unexpected things can happen, so don't be surprised if it gets cut short."

"I know. That's great! There's so much stuff I've been wanting to do!"

"Just be careful Cagalli. You can do whatever you want on your time off, but don't forget that you're the leader of Orb and a political figure watched by the world. Whatever you do will reflect on the country. So don't do anything foolish," he warned her.

"I got it Kisaka," she replied exasperatedly. "I'm not a child anymore. I can take care of myself. I also happen to have the perfect disguise that I prepared a long time ago for times like these."

"Alright Cagalli," he sighed, "I trust you. Have fun today because tomorrow you have to come in at 8."

"Okay! Bye!" Cagalli hung up and grinned mischievously. It was only twelve thirty so she had the rest of the afternoon to herself. _What should I do?_

She ran up to her room and rummaged through her bathroom drawers. When she found what he was looking for, she took them out and laid it across the counter. _Perfect._ It was a shoulder-length brown wig in the same hairstyle as hers and a pair of contact lenses. _I'll look just like Kira!_ She put on her disguise and looked at herself in the mirror. _Wow, I really do look like him._ She smiled to herself and sprinted back downstairs.

"Mana, I'm going out!" she cried out.

"Where are you going?" she heard Mana answer back from somewhere in the house.

"Downtown!"

"What! Are you out of your mind? There's too many people there!" She saw Mana running quickly toward her. When she saw Cagalli, she blinked in surprise.

"Nice disguise right? You didn't recognize me didn't you?" Cagalli asked her slyly, making Mana frown.

"Just be careful dear. Will you be back for supper tonight?"

"I don't think so. I'm planning to visit the orphanage later in the afternoon and I might be eating there. But I might be hungry again by the time I come back. I'll just have another serving of your beef stew."

"Okay, I'll keep it in the fridge for you."

"Thanks Mana! I'm off!"

Cagalli had a modest red car that had rarely been used and she was glad to finally be able to enjoy driving it today. She didn't have anything in particular that she wanted to do downtown. She just wanted to see her people and to observe their everyday life. She stopped at many shops to eat a variety of different snacks and discovered many new restaurants that she would want to try later on. Even though she hated shopping for clothes, she walked though the malls and was happy to see so many different shops and new ones opening soon. _I guess the economy is still growing._

She stopped at a coffee shop and settled down for a latte on the terrace. While she watched the people and the cars on the street, a waiter brought her her latte.

"It's unusual to see a young lady like you here at this time of the day. Usually, most of the young people are at school or around school campuses." The older man smiled gently at her. Cagalli stared at him with surprise, mouth agape, not knowing what to say.

She pretended to laugh and said, "I had school in the morning, but I don't have any classes in the afternoon so I came to hang out downtown."

"I see. Have fun then." Cagalli released a breath and relaxed her muscles. _Is it that strange for me to be here?_ She looked around and saw that most people were older, business men and women or shop owners and employees. She looked at her watch and saw that it was two thirty. _I guess people are still in school._ In fact, Orb was proud to be ranked in first place when it came to school attendance, with only a very little percentage of school drop-outs. _I guess it is weird for me to be out at this time._

Cagalli frowned and pouted. _What should I do? I have every Tuesday off. I don't want people to think that I'm a drop-out, even if they don't even know who I am..._ She pondered on this dilemma for the rest of the day until she got back home from the orphanage. Aunt Caridad had told her to take a class every Tuesday, but she wasn't too sure she wanted to go back to school. The thought of having more work to do irked her. However, she was rather intrigued by the idea of experiencing the life of an university student. Cagalli had attended school as an elementary student, but in middle and high school, she had been home schooled and trained in politics and social etiquette. She could barely remember what it was like to go to school.

She sat at the dinning table with a small bowl of warmed up stew and her laptop in front of her. She went on the main site of the University of Orb and looked at the list of classes that were offered for this semester. She scrolled down the page and was amazed at all the departments and faculties that existed. She clicked on one of them and a new list of all the classes came up. Cagalli stared at the screen with bulging eyes. _Don't tell me each department has this many courses offered!_ She spent the rest of the night looking at different departments that interested her.

_I should take a politics or economy class. That way it won't be too hard to do the assignments. Wait, maybe I should take this chance to learn something new!_ She debated with herself in her head. Since she was young, she had been forced to learn every aspect of the political life, so she had received many private lessons by renowned professors. _It should be something kind of new, but not too hard. I don't want to work too much. Wait, I don't even know if I'm allowed to be a student that only takes one class. Are the admission deadlines over yet? How do I even apply? _It was the end of August and she knew that the new semester would start in September. _I'll just ask Kisaka tomorrow._

The next day, she arrived at work fifteen minutes early and searched for Kisaka. When she saw him in the empty hallway, she ran up to him.

"Kisaka, I need you to do me a favor!" was the first thing she said. Kisaka blinked at her and smiled.

"What can I do for you Cagalli?"

"Can you help me apply for school? I want to take a history class at the University of Orb. It's every Tuesday afternoon so it's perfect for me!" Cagalli said with her eyes shining. Kisaka stared at her for a few seconds, frowning.

"You want to go to school?" he asked, making sure he hadn't heard wrong. Cagalli nodded. "But don't you hate school?"

"I hate being forced to study, but this time I want to go on my own free will. I want to experience the school life. I feel like I've missed out on it. Actually I feel like I've missed out on a lot of things, so I want to at least experience this. I'll always wear a disguise and I could use a fake name too." She looked at him hopefully, but he only sighed.

"I'd like to help you out Cagalli, but admission deadlines have been over for months now. It's too late to start this semester, but maybe you can apply for the winter semester."

"Oh," Cagalli looked at the floor, deflated, "I don't think that would be possible since, like you said, anything can happen and I might not have my Tuesdays off in four months. I guess I'll just have to give up this childish dream of mine. If the two wars hadn't happened and my father was still here, I might have been able to attend school like a normal person, but I guess that's impossible now." She sighed heavily and put on her saddest look.

Kisaka looked at her with pity and finally said, "It's not too late. I'll see what I can do."

Cagalli looked up quickly. "Really?"

"Yes, I should be able to pull some strings and get you in for this semester. But don't get your hopes up too much. I'll try my best, but I can't promise you anything."

"Yes, thank you so much Kisaka!" She knew he could never resist her pitiful look. It worked every single time. Cagalli chuckled as she walked back to her office to get ready for the day. She knew he could pull some strings to help her get in. He was Orb's Head Representative's right hand after all, so of course he could get these sort of things done. _Hehehe, oh Cagalli, you're so clever._

On Saturday, which was also a work day for Cagalli, Kisaka dropped a folder on top of her desk.

"What's this?" She asked, eyeing it suspiciously. She had been working since very early in the morning to catch up with her paperwork and she didn't want another one, not when she was almost done for the day.

"Open it," he simply said. She picked it up and flipped it open. Her eyes widened with delight.

"You got me in?" Kisaka nodded with a gentle smile as he watched Cagalli go through the papers. It included her acceptance letter, her confirmation of inscription for her class, her schedule and the synopsis for that class. He pointed out a form and said, "Fill this out and you can get a student card on your first day. You have to go take a picture and they'll put your information in it afterward."

"Caroline Yamato?" She laughed at the her fake name. She didn't really care what name she got, as long as she could get accepted. "Wait, but they say I need a proof of identity to get my student card done. I don't have any ID with my disguise."

"I know. That's why you'll take a picture tonight with your disguise on and I'll make you a temporary ID you can use to go to school."

"You're the best Kisaka!" she ran up to hug him tightly.

Like Kisaka had promised, she had gotten her fake ID on Monday, adding the last piece of things she needed to go to school the next day. Cagalli slept surprisingly well that night, despite her excitement. Mana, who was equally as excited as Cagalli, had prepared her a lunch. She had decided to go visit the campus in the morning to find her classroom and get her student card done.

She drove her car to the University and found a parking. _I'll ask Kisaka to get me a parking pass for the semester. _She didn't want to have to pay for parking every time she came to school, which added up as being more expensive than getting a pass for the whole semester, even if she was considered as one of the youngest rich person in Orb.

She walking around the large campus with a map in her hand, amazed at how big it was. She had already come to the University once to give a speech for a graduation ceremony, but hadn't had the chance to walk around the campus. When she found the building where the student cards were made, she was shocked by the number of students waiting in line. _Well, it is the first week of school._ She ended up waiting for an hour before it was her turn. She gave them her form and her ID and they took a picture of her. Her card came out in less than a minute and she smiled triumphantly at her student ID. _I'm now officially a student of the University of Orb._

The next thing she did was to find the classroom of her afternoon class to make sure she wouldn't be late. When she found it, she decided to go look for a cafeteria to eat her lunch. However, the cafeterias were packed and there were no seats available. She decided to eat outside since it was a nice day. She chuckled to herself as she thought about how people would react knowing that the Head Representative was currently sitting on the grass underneath a tree eating a homemade lunch. She ate her lunch quietly and watched the people around her. Most of them were in groups, probably friends from high school. There were a few others that were alone like her too, but she didn't mind being alone at the moment. _I'm going to make some friends in class._

Cagalli arrived at the classroom fifteen minutes early and was surprised by the size of the room. It was actually an amphitheatre that could fit around 350 to 400 people. The doors were beside the front stage of the room and she had to walk up many steps to get a seat in the middle row. She sat alone and watched as other students streamed in. In the end, the room was practically full. _I guess this is one of the mandatory classes for different programs._ Indeed, the class she was taking was a history class of Orb, everything from its creation and foundation and how it evolved in time. It was a class many of the freshmen had to take.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" a girl with dark brown hair asked, bringing Cagalli out of her thoughts.

"Oh, no it's not." The girl smiled and sat down. She took out a pencil case and a folder. From the folder, she took out some printed papers which contained the same first slide that was shown on the projected screen. Cagalli's eyes widened. _Where did she get that? Were we supposed to print it out?_ She started panicking a bit.

Seeing that Cagalli kept on eyeing her papers and fidgeting in her chair, the girl said, "these are the professor's slides for today's class that I printed out. You don't need to print them out, but it's just easier for me to follow and to take down notes." Cagalli stared at her with her mouth open, understanding the situation.

"Where did you get that document?" she asked her.

"The professor sent us an email last week with his presentation attached so we could read it before class if we wanted to." Seeing that Cagalli looked confused, she added, "you didn't get the email?"

"Huh? Ah, yeah, maybe it went into my junk mail. I'll have to check again later." The truth was, last week she wasn't even registered to this class yet.

"I'm Marilyn Glebe. What's your name?"

"I'm Cag- Caroline Yamato," she stuttered, almost blowing up her cover. "Nice to meet you." She shook Marilyn's hand.

"So are you from Orb?" Marilyn asked her.

"Yes, you?"

"Same. I heard there was a lot of people from all over the world since this university is known to be one of the best." Cagalli swelled up in pride at the mention of her country's top class education. She was going to experience first hand just how good the system was. Before she could answer back, the professor started his lesson.

"Good afternoon everyone and welcome to this class, history of Orb. My name is James Banting and I will be your professor throughout the semester." He looked like a man in his late forties, dressed sharply and professionally and spoke through a microphone, which made his voice audible to all the students.

The first class consisted of an introduction, showing what they would go through throughout the semester, the assignments they would have to do and how they would be tested. There was one midterm and one final exam, including two assignments. Cagalli groaned in her head. _When am I going to find time to do them and to study?_ She was already bombarded by other things on the other days of the week and she couldn't even imagine when she would have the time to focus on this class. _It's too early to regret your decision Cagalli. You just have to find time and do most of it on Tuesdays, before and after class._

Cagalli wasn't surprised to know most of the things in the first lesson. After all, it was general information that everyone who grew up in Orb knew about. She had also received extra classes of history of Orb when she was younger, but she had already forgotten most of the details.

It was a three hour class and they had a break in between. The moment the professor announced break time, many people stood up and left the room. _Where are they going?_

"Want to walk around and stretch a bit?" Marilyn asked her, already standing up. _Oh, I guess that's what they're all doing._

"Sure." Cagalli got up, but seeing that Marilyn had left her bag beside her chair, she asked, "aren't you going to bring your bag with you?"

"Nah, it's fine. It's only fifteen minutes and I doubt someone would steal something from it," she replied with nonchalance. Cagalli hesitated, but decided to take her bag with her. She had her wallet in there, which contained her real ID and didn't want to risk having someone finding it.

They walked around the hallways of the building, exploring a bit, when someone waved at them.

"Marilyn!" a guy cam up to them and hugged Marilyn. He was six feet tall with black hair and a muscular build.

"Jay! You're in this class too?"

"Yeah! History of Orb right? Practically everyone has to take it." He turned to look at Cagalli and asked, "and this is?"

"Oh, sorry! Jay, this is Caroline. Caroline, this is Jay. He's a friend from high school," she told Cagalli. She then turned back to Jay and said, " I just met her in this class. We're sitting beside each other."

Cagalli shook Jay's hand and smiled politely. He was practically towering over her. _He's so tall!_ She could tell he was a happy person, always with a huge smile on his face.

"That's great! I was sitting alone, but I think I'll move my things closer to you girls. Is that alright?" Jay asked.

"Yes of course. There's a free spot beside me." Cagalli told him.

They all walked back to class and Jay moved his things to sit with them. Cagalli chatted with them, interested in their stories. She also had to make up an excuse for the age difference between them. They were both eighteen turning nineteen, while she was already twenty two.

"After high school I work for three years to save up enough money to pay for the university's tuition fee," she lied.

"Wow, that's long. Why didn't your parents help you a bit?" Marilyn asked her.

"Well, I never knew my mother and my father already passed away." Marilyn gasped and Jay looked at her with pity._ Great Cagalli, you just had to go and make things awkward._ She had already accepted and gotten over her father's death, so it didn't bother her very much to mention it. Usually, she didn't even need to because everyone in the world already knew about it and no one wanted to bring it up in front of her. But now that she wasn't exactly Cagalli, she had forgotten that most people didn't have a life full of dangerous events like hers.

"I'm so sorry Caroline," they both apologized.

"Oh no, no, no it's okay. It was a long time ago. Don't worry about it." The ambience had suddenly gotten awkward and she quickly changed the topic.

The rest of the class went by fine. Cagalli learned some new things, more like details she had not known or had either forgotten about, which she took down many notes on her notebook.

"Do you know someone from Orb's National Defense?" Jay asked her.

"What?" Cagalli spun her head briskly toward him with a surprised look. _Damn it! I've already been found out?_ Jay pointed to her pen and chuckled.

"It's because your pen says National Defense with Orb's logo. You can only get a pen from there if you go into their headquarters and since entry is obviously prohibited to civilians, I just assumed that you knew someone who worked there," he explained casually. _Oh..._

"Yeah, I have a friend who's uncle works there. I stole this pen from her." Cagalli tried to laugh it off and luckily for her they accepted her story. _Stupid me! I can't believe I just took any pen on my desk! Not smart at all!_ It was a habit of hers to hoard all the pens she was given anywhere she went, mostly because she always forgot to give it back.

On the road back home, she received a phone call. Not many people knew her private phone number. Normally, to reach her, a person would have to call the head offices and go through her secretaries. She pressed on the talk button of her car to put it on speakerphone.

"Hello?"

"How was your first day of school Cagalli?" Kisaka asked her.

"It was great! There was so many people in one classroom and there was a lot of things that I learned. I also made two friends," Cagalli recounted excitedly.

"That's good. Did anyone recognize you?"

"No, but there was one little slip..." Cagalli hesitated. _Ugh, he's not gonna like it._

"What Cagalli?" he asked gravely, not exactly surprised.

"The pen I was using was from the National Defense Headquarters. My friend noticed it, but I invented a story and they seemed to accept it." Cagalli waited for a reply, but only there was only silence. "Kisaka?"

"You have to be more aware of things like this Cagalli. You were the one who requested to go without bodyguards and I agreed to it. I'm trusting you to protect yourself. That also means keeping your identity a secret." Kisaka spoke to her in a scolding tone, just like when she was still a rebellious teenager.

"I know Kisaka! It was just a mistake. It won't happen again and my disguise is perfect. No one will recognize me." Kisaka sighed in defeat.

"Fine. Where are you now?"

"I'm driving home right now."

"Alright, drive safely."

"Right. Bye Kisaka."

Cagalli was thoroughly enjoying her new school life experience. Not only was she able to act like a normal person her age, but she was also able to forget about her role as Orb's leader for a few hours, which allowed her to relax and to relieve her stress. Cagalli found that throughout the week, she was actually looking forward to every Tuesday. On Tuesday mornings, she would print out that day's lesson and skim through it to see what topic they would be learning about.

Cagalli's circle of friends had also grown. In the lessons that followed, Marilyn and Jay recognized some more people in the class and they quickly became her friends too. Sometimes after school they would all hang out together around campus or at a pub. Cagalli always refrained from drinking, saying that she had to drive later, but the real reason was because she was terrible at holding her liquor. Once drunk, Cagalli would ramble on and on about anything and everything. _I definitely can't risk that happening. Who knows what I'd say..._

When midterms were coming soon, Cagalli would study a bit with the others for a few hours after classes, but other than that, she would find some time on Tuesday mornings and late at night during the week to review as most as she could.

"Cagalli, you look terrible. Are you getting enough sleep?" Kisaka asked with concern. Cagalli was given a day of rest every week, but it seemed like recently she'd been coming to work looking more and more tired.

"It's fine Kisaka," she yawned, "I just have a midterm next week. Once that's over, I'll be back to normal." Kisaka just shook his head and walked away.

On the day of the exam, Cagalli could feel her heart beating fast as she sat there, waiting for the test to be distributed face down. When everyone had received a copy, they announced the start of the exam and she quickly flipped up her test. She read through the questions quickly. _Oh no, I don't think I know this one, nor that one!_ Cagalli answered the ones that were easy first, then continued staring at the harder questions. _Calm down Cagalli! You've reviewed everything at least once. Something has to pop up in your head. Just think!_ Before this test, she would've never thought that a university midterm exam could be more stressful and difficult than creating a new law for Orb.

The next week, Cagalli lazily walked to class. She found her group of friends already sitting together at the same place, so she headed straight their way.

"Caroline!" Marilyn waved at her. She sat down on the seat next to her and sighed. "How was the midterm exam for you?" she asked Cagalli. After the exam last week, she had left right away since she had finished early and it was taking too long to wait for the others to come out.

"I don't know." Cagalli shrugged. It was her first exam ever and she really didn't know what to expect. She had written down everything that she knew and she would have to wait for her grade to come out to see what the result would be. "I guess it went okay. You?"

"Hmm, I think I did okay too. There were a few questions that I couldn't answer, but overall, I was satisfied with what I did," Marilyn said.

"Would you guys quit talking about that exam!" a guy name Bruno said exasperatedly. "Not all of us did as well as you girls," he said in mock annoyance.

"What are you guys doing anyways?" Marilyn asked the boys. Bruno, Jay and another of their friend, Mark, were all looking at Jay's laptop screen. Cagalli and Marilyn approached to have a look for themselves. When Cagalli saw what was on the screen, her eyes popped out and she gasped and choked on air.

"We're cheering ourselves up by looking up our dear leader on Google." Indeed, there were tons of images of her on the internet and they were looking at all of them.

"Why is looking at Representative Athha making you guys feel better?" Marilyn asked doubtfully.

"Because she's hot," Bruno said immediately.

"Yeah, she's cute," Jay added, "Don't tell me you wouldn't like to date a girl like her." All the guys nodded in unison. Cagalli was standing behind all of them and was already beyond embarrassed. She could already feel her face boiling.

"Ah!" Marilyn pointed to one picture. It was a picture taken just last week when she had given a speech at an event. "She's looks so cool there! I wish I could be like her and wear a uniform like that too! Her speech was so beautiful and just so perfect too." Marilyn was definitely one of her admirers.

"You watched her make her speech?" Cagalli tried asking.

"Of course! Who doesn't?" Marilyn asked incredulously. Seeing that Cagalli was a bit lost, Jay piped in.

"Most people on Orb watch her closely. She doesn't make that many speeches, nor accept interviews, so we don't have the chance to see her speaking live very often. A lot of people like her and admire her ever since she saved Orb and took down the Seirans, who were basically making us go down with them. However, there's still quite a few people who don't trust her completely yet or who are still angry at her for leaving us in the first place. But I don't think you can really blame her. I would've left if I had to marry that disgusting Seiran guy too. She's still young and learning. I know that at her age back then, I would've never been able to do all that she did."

"Yeah, I agree. I just wish that I'm able to meet her one day," Mark added at the end.

"I wish she would appear on a television interview or something. I really want to see what kind of person she is," Marilyn said dreamily.

Cagalli went back to sit at her spot when the teacher was about to start the class. _So people are really watching me. I've been so busy that I haven't been able to connect with the citizens._ For the rest of lesson, her mind remained distracted. _What should I do to get closer? Should I accept an interview on a talk-show?_ She had been so busy with political matters during the past year that an interview hadn't even crossed her mind. They were always immediately rejected since her schedule was already jam-packed and, obviously, securing treaties with other countries and keeping the world's peace had the utmost priority.

"Kisaka," Cagalli called him the moment the got into her car. "Has there been any requests for interviews lately, preferably a non formal one, like in a talk-show or something?"

"I'll have to check. Why do you ask?"

"I just think that since I have some time now, I could accept an interview. The citizens don't know me very well and they rarely see me, other than when I make a speech or when I'm photographed at big events and stuff, so I thought it would bee a good time to try and connect with them."

"That's a good idea, show the public you want to talk to them and let them get closer to you. I'll arrange an interview for you soon then. Even if there aren't any requests since we're always refusing them, I'm sure anyone would accept or more like have the honor of hosting your very first interview."

Like Kisaka had said, it didn't take long for them to get an interview. Kisaka had gotten some people to call the popular evening talk-show, which was also the most watched TV show every day, The Castor Bellory Show, hosted by the said man. The interview was going to be in two weeks time, on a Thursday night.

When she went to school the next week, Marilyn, Jay, Bruno and Mark were all talking about the upcoming interview. Apparently the news had become viral and everyone was anticipating it.

"I can't believe she finally accepted one!" Marilyn exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah and on The Castor Bellory Show too! It's going to be awesome. I'm glad it's not a super formal political-ish interview," said Jay.

"No kidding. With this interview, hopefully, we'll be able to see what kind of person she is," Mark said.

"Well, Castor Bellory does have a talent in making people comfortable and be their natural self," Bruno explained.

"What would you like to her do?" Cagalli asked them.

"I don't know. I guess I'd like to see her laugh. She's not that much older than us so I just want to see if she can act her age," Jay said and the rest agreed.

"So, guys, the grades came out. Did you see them?" Bruno asked suddenly. The two other guys grunted.

"Yeah, I got a 64. I gotta make sure to do batter at the finals and in the assignments," Jay sighed.

"I got 69. It's not that bad, but I would've preferred a bit higher so I don't need to stress that much for the finals," Mark said.

"I got the same," Bruno added nonchalantly. He seemed to be satisfied with what he got. "What about you girls?"

"I got 78." Marilyn smiled triumphantly.

"What! And you were the one who fretted the most about her grade. Show-off!" Jay said playfully.

When they all stared at Cagalli, she smiled uncomfortably and said, "96", quietly.

They stared, dumbfounded, with open mouths.

"So you weren't as dumb as we thought!" Jay slapped her back playfully while laughing, "You're a smarty pants!"

"Hey!" Cagalli retorted, "I didn't even know I answered most of them correctly."

"Then it's just beginner's luck," Bruno remarked, making everyone laugh.

The rest of the week went well. Cagalli spent her spare time working on her assignments. Luckily for her, they were on topics that she was familiar with. Sometimes she would ask Kisaka for more information and he would always help her however he could, knowing how busy she was and how hard she was trying to achieve in this class.

When the night of the interview came, Mana helped her pick out a casual but chic outfit, tailored to fit her perfectly. Like Bruno had said, Castor Bellory really was able to make her feel comfortable and his sense of humous had made her laugh multiple times. The next morning, Kisaka had informed her that the show had received a record breaking viewing rate during her interview. There had been a lot of positive feedback and a huge load of phone calls coming in asking for interviews. In the newspaper, they had praised her and described her as a humble, down-to-earth, beautiful and young leader. _Wow, let's not exaggerate. I wouldn't say that I'm particularly beautiful..._

She had heard from her friends at school about how they had fallen even more in love with her after that interview. Cagalli had to pretend to be excited too, so as to not look suspicious. Amongst the students, Orb's female leader was a hot topic and one could always start a conversation about Cagalli Yula Athha with anyone. _I'm glad more people like me. I want them to forgive me._

She had not fully realized, until after the interview just how important it was to have a favourable image with the citizens. It was one of the most gratifying feelings to know that your people love you back just as much as you love them.

* * *

"In next week's class, we're going to finish this chapter in the first hour and a half, then the rest of the class will be reviews and I'll answer all the questions for the final exam," the teacher announced before the break.

"The final exam is in two weeks?" Cagalli asked, panicking. _Crap! Crap, I have to study!_

"Yeah, you didn't know? This is basically our last full class. Like the teacher said, half of next week's class is going to be reviews," Marilyn told her.

"Uhg." Cagalli rested her head on her desk, defeated. These upcoming weeks were supposed to be very busy for her. _That means I'll get even less sleep. Well, technically, if I just want to pass, I don't need a super high grade since I did well in the midterm and the two assignments. But..._ Cagalli knew she didn't need to prove herself to anybody and her average wouldn't be needed for anything. She already had a job after all. However, in the end, it all came down to her pride. Cagalli was not the type of person to do things half-heartedly and everything she did, she affronted it as a challenge.

When the people were coming back in the classroom for the lesson to resume, she heard a siren ring throughout the hallways and the classroom. She whipped her head up and looked around anxiously. _Shit! What's going on? Are we under attack?_ Marilyn stood up normally and took her bag. Cagalli looked beside her and saw that the guys were doing the same thing.

"What's going on? Where are you going?" she asked her. Marilyn looked at her confused.

"This is a practice drill. You've never done one before Caroline?" Cagalli shook her head. "We have one every semester. When this siren rings, you have to leave your things and find the nearest shelter and hide there in case of an attack on Orb, but everyone brings their things anyways," she explained while they followed the crowd of people moving in an orderly manner, "there are many shelters in universities, big ones too. You stay in there for about fifteen to twenty minutes until they make sure that everything had proceeded correctly, then you just go back to class. It's like a fire drill."

_Oh,_ Cagalli relaxed when she knew that there wasn't anything dangerous going on in Orb. She remembered having passed a law to make these drills mandatory in every major public facilities like schools and hospitals. During the past wars, there had been too many casualties due to unorganized and confused evacuations. Many people were not in shelters by the time they were attacked. Cagalli had vowed to change that and to make sure that every citizen of Orb knew where to go and what to do if they were ever threatened to be attacked again. _I won't let them die because we were too late again._

She was actually curious about how this new drill worked. They arrived at a big metal door, after descending a few sets of stairs, where hundreds of people were making their way inside. Cagalli marvelled at the size of the room. It was very spacious, with a ten feet ceiling and accommodating around 300 people. Their whole class was practically there, including some other students from different programs.

"Let's go over there." Jay pointed to an open space near the wall and they all proceeded to sit in a circle on the floor.

"So this is what we do," Marilyn concluded, "now we sit and wait until they tell us it's okay to go back."

"I love drills. We always get to miss some class time," Mark snickered, making Marilyn roll her eyes.

"I heard that in a real situation, the compartments along the walls would unlock. Apparently they contain enough supplies to last one week for three hundred people!" Bruno said in awe.

"Yeah I heard that too. We also have a washroom," Jay said.

"What if there are more people in here than 300. We'll fight over the food!" Marilyn said worriedly.

"Of course that won't happen. Each person that comes through that door is counted and the moment it reached the maximum, which is three hundred, a glass door slides it shut and the metal door will close after," Bruno explained.

The whole time Cagalli just listened quietly. _Yep, everything seems to be working right._ She had made sure to add all those details, especially the washroom and the supplies, when they were making the law. It made no sense for people to go into shelters if they were going to suffer or die in there if they had to stay in for more than a day or two.

Everyone in the room were chatting amongst themselves, listening to music or reading. Marilyn sighed loudly.

"Why is it taking so long?" She looked at her watch. It had already been thirty minutes and they still hadn't received any notice to return to class. Even the teachers were perplexed.

"Maybe they found some students loitering around," Mark suggested.

They continued to wait for another five minutes when, suddenly, the lights all dimmed down and red lights on the sides came on. A loud and long siren rang outside the shelter room. Everyone was frozen stiff. Nobody moved or made a sound while the sirens were ringing over and over again. Cagalli's heart was beating rapidly. _Code red? What's going on now? Are we being attacked?_

"What's going on?" Marilyn asked them quietly. She was hugging her knees together, clearly afraid.

"I'm not sure, but it doesn't seem to be part of the drill. I think something must've happened," Jay said. Cagalli clenched her fists. She was angry at herself for not being able to do anything. Once Orb went on lockdown, people were not allowed to exit their shelters, including her. _Shit! I'm stuck in here._ She searched in her bag and got her cellphone out, but there was no signal.

"You can't get any signal from in here, if not, the enemy could detect us and they could start targeting the shelters," Jay told her, after seeing her frantically looking for her cellphone. _Crap, that's true. What do I do? Kisaka knows I'm here. Maybe he'll come get me._ Then she remembered that there were many shelters in this university. _Will he be able to find me? No, it's going to take too long. If we're under attack and I'm not there, then he'd have to be at the National Defense HQ._

Suddenly, a screen lit up on the wall at the back of the room. Everyone turned their attention to it. An officer came on the screen.

"Everyone, please remain calm. There is an unidentified ship at the border of Orb's territorial waters. Out of precaution, the citizens are asked to remain in their shelters until the situation is solved. Other updates will follow." After the message, the screen went blank. _Bullshit! We wouldn't go on a lockdown just because one ship is at our border. There has to be something else._ She already knew that something like this only happened if they judged that Orb's citizens were in a possible danger.

The more she waited, the more she grew anxious. There were no new updates in the next fifteen minutes. Not many people were talking. She could see that they were all worried and equally anxious. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone getting up and opening a small door on the wall. It was her teacher. Her eyes widened when she saw an emergency phone inside. She sprang up on her feet and ran over to her teacher.

"Does it work?" she asked him frantically. Her teacher blinked at her a few times and shook his head in defeat. By then, everyone had their eyes on her, wondering what she was trying to do. "Can I see it?"

Her teacher nodded and passed the cord phone to her. There was no line. _Dammit!_ She looked around the small compartment and spotted a place to swipe a card. An idea came to her and she quickly returned to her place and grabbed her bag.

"Caroline, what are you doing?" Marilyn asked her in a loud whisper. Cagalli looked at her quickly and smiled, but was too busy to answer her. She ran back to the phone, searched through her bag and took out a card. She put the receiver to her ear and swiped the card.

"Please enter your passcode," a mechanical voice said. _Yes!_ She had swiped her real ID card, which she knew granted her access to everything as long as she entered the right code. After she had entered her passcode, a phone line came on. She dialed the only number she knew by heart. It rung four times until someone picked it up.

"Kisaka speaking."

"Kisaka! It's me!" Cagalli practically yelled.

"Head Representative! Are you alright? I couldn't get a hold of you. Where are you right now?" he asked worriedly. She knew he was probably in the presence of other people because he would've called her 'Cagalli' otherwise.

"I'm in a shelter at school."

"Which one?" She looked around the room.

"I'm in shelter 14D," she said after she saw it on the wall. She heard him bark some orders, telling someone to locate her shelter. Seconds later, Kisaka appeared on the screen. Cagalli turned around swiftly.

"Kisaka, can you hear me?" she asked out loud. When he nodded, she put the receiver back down and walked closer to the screen. Apparently there was a built-in camera and microphone because Kisaka could see and hear her too. "Where are you right now?"

"I'm at the National Defense Headquarters," he told her.

"Who's in charge?"

"Colonel Soga."

"Put him on," Cagalli said. Kisaka called the commander over and he moved to the side. He was about to salute, but when he saw her he frowned in confusion and paused in between.

"Colonel Soga," Cagalli started, yanking off her wig and quickly removing her contacts, "tell me the current situation. In brief details," she insisted the last part, not wanting the students to be more afraid if it was getting dangerous.

"Yes Representative Athha. There's a ship that is trying to invade our territorial waters. It is currently in combat with our marine force. It appears to have a lot of firepower. We've tried to open a communication channel to try to reason with them, but they haven't responded."

"What? They've ignored our warnings and our attempts to communicate with them?" Cagalli asked incredulously. "And it's just one ship?" _Are they trying to kill themselves? Clearly they can't defeat us with just one ship._

"Yes ma'am. We've made a wide range scan of the area and we did not detect any other ships nearby." _They could be up to something._

"Have the pilots from squad 1 and 2 on standby in their mobile suits. We don't want to be caught unprepared if they have their own on board," Cagalli instructed.

"Yes, they are already on standby," Colonel Soga confirmed.

"Good. Now I need you to unlock the door of this shelter so I can get out." Suddenly, she saw Kisaka quickly come on screen beside Colonel Soga.

"You can't be serious Head Representative! It's dangerous to go out right now. You should stay in there until it's safe. We'll keep this line open so you can follow the situation." Kisaka tried to reason with her almost desperately, knowing how stubborn of a person she was, especially when it came to her country's safety.

"Kisaka, I will come to the National Defense Headquarters no matter what. It is my duty to insure the safety of my people. Now open this door, that's an order," Cagalli said with determination. Kisaka sighed deeply, with a light grumble, clearly displeased with her decision. But he had no choice but to comply, since he couldn't really refuse in front of all these people. The door beeped and unlocked itself, showing a green light.

"Good. I'll be there soon. Don't let anything hit the island." She turned around and headed to the door. She could hear Kisaka telling her to be careful, but she was already too rushed and anxious to respond.

"Caro- Representative Athha!" Marilyn called out. It was only then that Cagalli remembered her surroundings and all the other students. She had been so focused about the situation that she had zoned out and had forgotten about all the other people. Everyone had their eyes glued to her, staring with wide eyes, displaying looks ranging from shock to admiration.

Cagalli was already passed the door and looked back at them. She smiled sadly and said, "I'm sorry I lied to you all. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to to this island." With that last word, the big metal door closed. _I hope they don't hate me because I've deceived them for all this time._

She ran as fast as she could to the parking lot and jumped into her car, throwing her bag to the back. Because the roads were all empty, she sped the whole way to the National Defense Headquarters and arrived in thirteen minutes. By the time she arrived to the command center, she was breathing hard to catch her breath.

"Representative Athha!" Kasaka exclamed, glad to see that she was safe.

"What's the situation. How are things going along?"

It's still the same. They don't appear to have any mobile suits. We've fired back at them and have done a great deal of damage. The ship doesn't seem to be suited for battle. I'm assuming that these people are amateurs, using this sorry excuse of a ship to attack us for a personal reason." _That could be true, but it's basically suicide._

Cagalli looked at the map on the big screen and saw that the ship was completely surrounded. _There's no escape for them._

"Cease all attacks on the ship itself. We don't want to destroy or sink it. Use high precision artillery to target their cannons and missiles, anything that they're using to shoot at us. Paralyze them," Cagalli ordered, "and open a communication channel again. I will speak to them."

Someone passed her a headset. "This is the Head Representative of Orb, Cagalli Yula Athha," she started, "we have you surrounded. You have no way of winning, nor of escaping. We suggest that you surrender peacefully. We-"

She was cut off by a man's loud laugh. _At least they answered._

"Our dear young leader finally decided to speak to us. We're so honored." Cagalli frowned in anger at the tone of his voice.

"Who are you and what are your motives?" Cagalli asked.

"Just one of your citizens that you betrayed!" the man screamed.

"Representative Athha, the line was cut," someone told her. _Damn it all to hell!_ The situation was ridiculous. The ship was completely surrounded by military ships, fully armed for war. There was no way their weak ship was going to make it through.

"What are they doing now?" she asked with impatience.

"They're- they're actually moving forward! They're trying to break through our formation with force."

"Don't let them get through at any cost!" Cagalli ordered, "Stop their engine. If it's possible, take them in alive." Cagalli was already feeling bad about having another civilian against her. The last thing she wanted to do was to kill this man and whoever was on board with him.

Cagalli could say that she was proud of their marine forces. They were able to subdue the enemy ship and bring it into the port without killing anyone. In the end, there was a dozen men inside, all civilians, with no military experience whatsoever.

"Damn you! Damn you all!" The man she had spoken to was the one who had resisted the most when they dragged him off his battered ship. He cursed and fought hard to escape, but that proved to be futile since armed soldiers were everywhere.

Cagalli watched solemnly from the inside of a tinted car. _There goes another one._ Each time she met another Orb citizen that held a grudge towards her, it reminded her of Shinn. It had been hard enough for her heart to hear so many bad things about her father and now she was the one people were cursing. _It's all my fault._

"Cagalli," Kisaka called for her attention, "don't take it to heart. People like him will always exist no matter what you do. You can't satisfy every single person. We all know you're doing your best already."

Cagalli looked back out the window with a pained expression. "But it's not enough Kisaka. I've betrayed my people's trust because I wasn't strong enough back then and this is what happens. My own citizens hate me and hold grudges against me. I have a long way to go before they start to accept me again."

"I'm glad you're persevering Cagalli. Don't lose strength. Become a leader that people can respect and trust wholeheartedly." Cagalli looked at him with surprise. He only smiled back at her in a fatherly way. "Your father would've been proud of you."

The corner of her lips twitched upwards,"thanks Kisaka", she said quietly.

For the next week, Cagalli was back to her busy schedule. News of the attack was bustling everywhere in Orb. Cagalli's speech to appease the people was often repeated on the news channels. Everyone was talking about it and was glad that there were no casualties. Cagalli was also aware of the fact that the rumour of her attending the University of Orb was spreading like a virus on the internet.

Cagalli groaned and leaned back in her seat. She had been working long hours for the past week, reading damage reports, doing paperwork, running from one place to the other and not to forget studying in the evenings. _How am I going to make it to the finals next week?_ She had missed the last class with the revisions, so the finals were coming up faster than ever.

She sighed heavily and went back to the report she had been reading. The man that had tried to attack Orb was in his early fifties and was a fairly wealthy man, which explained how he was capable of procuring a ship. Apparently he had a grudge against Orb for having killed his son who had been fighting in the military to protect Orb during the last war. He had blamed her for making it all happen. The other men's stories were similar. They all wanted to get back at the country that took everything from them.

When she had read the reports, she had decided to go see that man. She met him alone in a room where he was cuffed to his chair. The moment he saw her, he cursed and spat. Cagalli listened quietly to his angry rants.

"You betrayed us when you left! You let my son die!"

"The war killed your son. He joined the army knowing we were in war. He knew the dangers, but he fought to protect his country and his family. I came back as soon as I could to prevent Orb from getting destroyed and to prevent everyone from dying. And if my return wouldn't have been enough, I would have stayed in Orb until the end too." She had gotten the man's attention but she doubted he could sympathize with anyone at the moment. "I'm sorry about your loss. Your son fought bravely and because of him, we were able to withstand the attacks."

Cagalli stood up strait and bowed to the man. "I'm sorry that I betrayed your trust, but it won't happen anymore. I'm doing my best to protect Orb." The man didn't say anything. She could still see the hate in his eyes, but she took his silence as a good sign.

From then on, she had a few days of troubled sleep, which only added to her fatigue from the day's work.

"Cagalli, are you getting enough sleep?" Kisaka asked on a Sunday. Cagalli wanted to sigh, but she kept it in.

"Yes I'm fine." She didn't want to make him worry about her because she had been disturbed by the man to the point that it affected her sleep. "I'm just trying to study for my finals this Tuesday."

"Are you seriously thinking of going back there? By now, the whole campus probably knows about you attending a class. And you are in no shape to take that exam. It's not like you need the grade anyways." Cagalli glared at him.

"I'm going. This is probably the only class that I will ever take in my life and I want to complete it. I'm going to take this exam even if it kills me!" Kisaka looked at her hopelessly and sighed. When Cagalli was this stubborn about something, it was impossible to make her change her mind.

"I just want to remind you that you have a meeting on Tuesday morning."

"I know. I'll be there. I'm going to go strait to my exam after the meeting," Cagalli was fuming. _Why is everyone bothering me so much!_

"Alright Cagalli, but you're going to have to go with bodyguards. There's bound to be reporters there."

"No, I don't think so. Nobody knows the alias that I was using, so they can't find out which program that I was in." _I have to thank Marilyn and the guys for not telling anyone!_ "There are over thirty pavilions and it's already been two weeks since I last attended school. I'm sure a lot of people are starting to doubt this rumour, so that would mean less reporters too." Cagalli smirked at Kisaka and dared him to challenge her. He just closed his eyes and walked away. _Yes!_

When Cagalli woke up on Tuesday, she ate breakfast and packed her bag. _Should I bring my disguise? Yeah I guess._ _I don't want people to follow me to the classroom. _She put the wig in another bag and looked around her closet, deciding which clothes she wanted to wear to the university after her meeting.

"Cagalli! You're going to be late for your meeting!" she heard Mana from downstairs. _Crap!_ She threw some clothes into the other bag, ran around her room to take her backpack, the documents for the meeting and put on her uniform jacket. She raced downstairs into the garage and took out her car. She had decided not to go to the meeting with her chauffeur since she would have to go to school directly afterwards.

Cagalli was having difficulty staying focused during the meeting. Her mind always wandered off to her class notes and the final exam that she would be taking in a few hours. Luckily for her, the others were actively discussing, allowing her to listen quietly most of the time. However, the longer the meeting lasted, the more she became impatient and frustrated.

When the meeting ended, which lasted longer than expected, Cagalli ran to her car as fast as she could the moment she was alone. She jumped into the driver's seat and started the car. Suddenly, she remembered that she was still in uniform and had to change before leaving. She looked in the back seat, but was horrified by what she found, or what she hadn't found. _Where's that bag?_ She got out of the car and opened the door to the back seat. She lifted her backpack, threw things around, hoping to find the bag that contained her wig and her clothes underneath the mess. _Oh no, don't tell me..._ It was then that she remembered running out of the house without the bag, leaving it on her bed.

She groaned in frustration. There was no time for her to go back home to get changed. _I have no choice. I have to go like this. _She drove as fast as she could without risking getting stopped by the police, which would only delay her even more, while devouring a sandwich.

When she got to the university and parked, she stayed inside and ducked while she surveyed the surroundings. _Good, not too many people._ Because it was exam period, the campus was a lot more quiet and deserted. She looked at her watch and gasped. She had five minutes to get to the classroom before the exam started.

She grabbed her bag and got out of her car. _Wait, maybe this is too flashy._ She looked down at her white military uniform. In the end, she removed her jacket and was left with the read long sleeve underneath. _Oh well. Better than with the jacket._ She ran across the parking lot and the campus, hoping to get to class on time and also hoping not to be seen by anybody.

Unfortunately, her last wish did not come true. Cagalli wasn't exactly the type of person you could miss, especially if you considered her bright golden hair. The fact that she was wearing her white pants and a red top was also not helping her at all.

"Miss Cagalli!" she heard some students gasp and call out to her, but she was too preoccupied to pay them any attention. _I have to get to class!_

When she approached the door to her classroom, there was nobody in the hallway. _Everyone's already inside._ Despite her role as Orb's representative, she still disliked being the center of attention. If she could avoid it, she would definitely do it.

She opened she door and tried to walk in quietly, still breathing hard from all her running. Her effort was useless because the room had been quiet due to the distribution of the exam papers and everyone had heard the door open. The moment she came in, gasps and whispers erupted in the room. Cagalli looked at the teacher apologetically. He came down from the little stage in the front of the class and walked toward her.

"I did not think you would come take the exam today, Representative Athha, or should I say Caroline Yamato." He smiled at her gently, making her return one.

"Please call me Cagalli professor Banting," she lowered her voice and said, "and thank you for not telling anyone the name I was using." She offered her hand and he shook it with a nod.

"Well, the exam is about to start, so go get yourself a seat and we can talk later Cagalli."

"Of course." She walked up the stairs toward the same place she had always sat. Marilyn and the guys were looking at her with huge eyes and open mouths. _Do I have a second head or something?_ She sat down at her usual place between Marilyn and Jay.

"Hey guys," she whispered. They just continued to stare at her. Actually, the whole class was staring at her. "Well, good luck on this exam."

"Caroline! I mean, miss Representative Athha! I can't believe it was really you. I thought I had dreamed everything!" Marilyn said a bit too loudly. Cagalli put a finger to her mouth and tried to get her to quiet down.

"Just call me Cagalli. And the exam is about to start, so we can talk later."

Cagalli tried her best to answer all the questions like she had done on the midterms, but this time it was a little bit harder since she'd had less time to study. This time, she took longer to complete the exam and stayed all three hours.

"The exam is over. Please put down your pens and hand in your papers," the teacher said out loud. There weren't that many people in the room left, but she could hear a constant background noise from the hallway. She was completely aware and sure that everyone was waiting outside for her to come out.

"How was the exam miss Cagalli?" professor Banting asked her when she gave him her exam papers.

"It was just a bit more difficult for me because I didn't have that much time to study, but overall I don't think it was too bad," she laughed a bit.

"I'm glad to hear that. And I think we're very much aware of how busy you must've been these past two weeks. I also wanted to thank you for protecting Orb. It is so inspiring to see such a young lady that's so strong with so much leadership. I'm sure you're a great role model for many young people, especially the young girls." Cagalli blushed deeply at the direct compliments. It had been such a long time since someone had given her a complement on her achievements, especially so many in a row like this, that she realized just how little interaction she's had with her people in all these years.

She thanked him deeply and they talked a little more. When Cagalli came out of the classroom, the hallways were full of students and some reporters trying to make their way to the front. She smiled at everyone, used to these types of situations, but she was a bit nervous at the same time because, for the first time, she was completely alone, surrounded by so many people. She spotted her group of friends and smiled and waved at them. They smiled back and approached a bit more hesitantly.

"Head Representative, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," Jay said, extending his hand to her for a handshake. Cagalli laughed and shook his hand.

"Just call me Cagalli. And technically, we've already met a few months back. I just changed my appearance and my name, that's all."

She didn't have the chance to talk to her friends very much since many people were asking to take pictures with her or asking for autographs. The reporters were very quick to arrive at the scene and in the end, she was sort of stuck doing a quick mini interview while walking back to her car.

"Why did you decide to attend university and why did you pick this one?" one of them asked.

"I had a bit of time recently and I just thought that experiencing the life of a university student would be interesting. At the same time, I was able to ascertain the level and quality of education here, the university that's said to be the best one in Orb."

It felt like an eternity before she reached her car, but she finally did and was able to leave the huge crowd of people following her. When she arrived home, she dropped onto her back on her bed, exhausted from the day's activities. _I'm so tired... _She ended up taking a little nap until Mana called her down for supper.

Not surprisingly, every six o'clock news channel in Orb were broadcasting her attendance at school. Some were showing some interviewed students, who always displayed amazement, surprise and complete cluelessness when it came to her secret identity. Apparently, nobody had ever come close to recognizing her. _Wow, my disguise was that awesome. But now I can't use the same one anymore._

The exam's results had come out fast and she was pleasantly surprised to find out she had gotten an 81. She was already fully back to work, but from time to time she would get a day off even if it wasn't regular anymore. One thing she wanted to do though, was to have a little party to celebrate the end of the semester, or university in her case, with her friends. _I should invite them over for a small supper one day._ In the end, Cagalli was very happy she had decided to take a class in university. It was definitely a priceless experience.

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**A.N.: **I love Cagalli and I thought it's be fun to write a story about her. I hope you guys liked it. Please leave a review :)


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